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The Stance
The Stance were a techno/punk/indie band formed in 1990 from the ashes of the Derby bands The Moving Jelly Brothers, The Thoroughbreds of Wisdom and Futura Cowboys. The seeds of the band were sown when Matt Holmes (singer and keyboard player for The Moving Jelly Brothers) and Steve Hardy (drummer for Futura Cowboys) met via a shared love of techno-punk band Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Under the name Aliens Smith & Jones the pair wrote and recorded a techno track called 'The Invaders' which heavily sampled the 1960s television series of the same name. Shortly after recording 'The Invaders' the pair were joined by former Thoroughbreds of Wisdom front man Johnny Vincent and began recording new material together which had an indie/dance style. Feeling the new material needed guitar to enhance its 'indie' credentials the trio recruited Nick Gascoigne who had no previous live or studio experience but had impressed the others when he'd informally auditioned playing over the track 'Headstrong'. Taking the name The Stance - previously used by Vincent as a vehicle for some solo efforts - the band began recording in earnest at Holmes' Space Dome Studios and soon amassed a considerable stockpile of songs. The band made their live debut later that year at a charity show in aid of BBC Radio Derby's annual Money Mountain appeal which was held at Derby's Wherehouse. For the early shows Holmes sang and played keyboards and Hardy played bass guitar with Gascoigne on guitar and Vincent singing. Later Hardy switched to keyboards leaving Holmes and Vincent as co-frontmen with Gascoigne remaining on guitar. In a very short order of time the band began to attract the attention of record labels and to that end they were invited to record a series of demos for Rondor Music in London. However, despite the promising outcome of these recordings and the band gaining an excellent reputation as a live act, Holmes opted to leave The Stance to pursue a short-lived career as a solo artist and the band spilt. The band reconvened in 2003 to record the album 'Energizer'. Nick Gascoigne declined to be involved and his place was taken by Nottingham-based guitarist Mark Fox. In order to promote 'Energizer' the band played a one-off gig at Derby's Victoria Inn on 15th March 2003 which featured a surprise appearance by Holmes who, although heavily involved in the writing and recording of the album, had stated he did not wish to perform live. Immediately after the show Holmes departed the band for the second and last time. At around the same time a limited edition, on-demand CD of the bands original demos was released entitled 'Temporal Feedback'. The Stance - now a trio consisting of Vincent, Hardy and Fox - continued to write and record various demos. Without Holmes more commercial influence the band began to adopt a more solidly 'post-punk' sound and much of the technology used during Holmes tenure was eschewed in favour of a more traditional band matrix. In the studio Hardy would often multi-track drums, keyboards and bass guitar. Around 2005 the Stance broke-up for the second time. In 2010 the band reformed for the final time with Nick Gascoigne returning to the fold after almost twenty years. Having now totally abandoned the technology used in the original incarnations of the band Hardy reverted to bass guitar and drummer Chris Drake was brought in. Gascoigne remained on guitar and Vincent the vocalist. The band played two farewell gigs in Derby before finally calling it a day. Steve Hardy and Chris Drake both withdrew from making music with Hardy becoming a screenwriter and Drake becoming a freelance journalist. Mark Fox joined Shamus O'Blivion and the Megadeath Morrismen before becoming a full-time music teacher. Johnny Vincent and Nick Gascoigne went on to form Exit the Network and which recorded one album, 'Everyday Objects'. Nick Gascoigne died in 2011. Johnny Vincent now fronts The Ruins who, as of 2016, have recorded two albums and have established themselves as a first-class live act. Gallery Stance bridge.jpg|The first line-up (l-r) Steve Hardy, Matt Holmes, Nick Gascoigne, Johnny Vincent jonny_trees.jpg|Johnny Vincent matt_trees.jpg|Matt Holmes nick_trees.jpg|Nick Gascoigne steve_trees.jpg|Steve Hardy Wherehouse 1.jpg|Early gig at the Wherehouse, circa 1991 Band members Johnny Vincent - vocals Matt Holmes - vocals/keyboards/programming Steve Hardy - bass guitar/keyboards/drums/vocals Nick Gascoigne† - guitar Mark Fox - guitar Chris Drake - drums Roger Dale aka 'Roger D' - raps Releases Temporal Feedback (a compilation of the bands early demos, released 2003) Energizer (2003) Energizer - Special Edition (as above but featuring bonus tracks, 2003) Re-Energizer (an album of remixed version of Energizer, 2003) Related acts The Moving Jelly Brothers The Thoroughbreds Of Wisdom Futura Cowboys The Score Exit The Network The Ruins Links Category:Bands